Already released in the UK and Canada, the US will be able to pick up the beloved series on July 4th. 5 discs with 5 extra hours of footage ... and it's all FANTASTIC!
Current Status: Series 2 airing on BBC, confirmed for Series 3
Year of release: 2005
Country of Production: UK
Original Network: BBC One
Total No. of Episodes: 13
Extra Features:
-> Commentaries for each episode including featured commentary from producer/writer Russell T. Davis, producer Julie Gardner, actress Billie Piper (Rose Tyler), actor John Barrowman (Capt Jack Harkness).
-> Doctor Who Confidential - 13 episodes of Behind the Scenes the BBC produced to promote the series.
-> Featurettes included:
- Interview with Christopher Eccleston on Big Breakfast
- On set with Billie Piper as she records behind the scenes footage from her own video camera.
- The Adventures of Capt. Jack, a one on one interview with John Barrowman
- and numerous 'how-they-did-it' special effect features care of the fine folks from The Mill.
Calling the release 'DOCTOR WHO: the Complete First Series' seems a bit ... incorrect since a) the Doctor himself is well over 950 years old and b) the series itself has a 30 year history with some 700 episodes in total.
Aside from that, without giving any US spoilers away, the presented episodes seem re-edited in a way that doesn't allow for commercial breaks for broadcast. The result is a seamless wide-screen (16:9) presentation from start to finish.
For me, this was an impulse buy. I had been hearing the show was breaking new grounds and that Billie Piper was actually a skilled actor. But I had been too enrapt with Battlestar Galactica to notice the sci-fi series from abroad when it was broadcast on the CBC. Then came the email announcing its release on DVD. I'm slightly ashamed to say it stayed in the shrink wrap for almost a month before I popped the disc in.
Hearing the theme song reawakened memories of my clutching sofa cushions to my face and hiding behind the couch.
In a word ... FANTASTIC.
For more DVD reviews and information about other archived entertainment, visit DvdReviews.suite101.com
